


Rebellion

by elceri



Category: The Patriot (2000)
Genre: American History, Humorous Ending, Implied Incest, Implied Sibling Incest, M/M, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-09
Updated: 2012-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 16:17:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/587313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elceri/pseuds/elceri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas rebels against his father's strict rules, and asks Gabriel to do something with him. Gabriel has been waiting for this moment for a long, long time.</p><p>(Hint: It's not what you think.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rebellion

**Author's Note:**

> My answer to XPatriot's "July Fourth" challenge, to write a story celebrating the colonists and their cause. Originally published on July 4, 2003 under a pseudonym I can no longer use. Contact me if there are any concerns.

It was almost midnight, and the July heat was stifling. Thomas lay atop the covers, his nightshirt pulled up to his thighs and clinging to his sweaty skin, miserable. Samuel and Nathan were both asleep, which he both envied and was grateful for, because if they were awake, they would be peppering him with questions about what was wrong, why he was still awake. He had been planning this for days, and with Father exhausted from his return that morning from a trip to their uncle's plantation, this was the only time to do it.

Thomas heard movement in the next room and knew that Gabriel was awake. That meant he had gotten his note. The creaking of floorboards outside the door and along the hallway told Thomas that Gabriel was sneaking out and hopefully down to the creek as the note had instructed. The creek was far enough away from the house that their voices would not be heard, and at worst, if they were caught, they could always make the excuse that they were going for a late night swim to try and fight the heat. Father would still be angry, but not as angry as if he knew what they were really there to do.

Several minutes went by as Thomas listened to make sure nobody was awakened by Gabriel's departure. He then slipped out of bed, careful not to wake his brothers, and crept over to the window. By the light of the moon, he could barely make out Gabriel's form as he ran across the fields toward the shelter of the trees that would lead to the creek. Thomas knew he had to move fast. He pulled his trousers on over his nightshirt and fastened them, then gathered his boots in one arm. With trembling hands he then opened the small box that contained his prized lead soldiers. They had been carefully arranged to conceal a cloth pouch in the bottom of the box, which Thomas painstakingly pulled out, careful not to make a sound with the soldiers. It was slow work, but he had not thought of a better place to hide something that would surely raise too many questions and cause too much trouble if it had been found.

It was almost surreal, Thomas thought as he snuck down the stairs with the pouch hidden in one of his boots. While he admired Gabriel's independence and strength, he had not ever felt himself strong or brave enough to go against Father's wishes before. It was only just after he had turned fourteen that the first stirrings of rebellion began deep within him. Still, it had taken several months before he had gotten up the courage to actually do anything about them. It had been a confusing time, fraught with changes in his body and in the way he thought, and there were many times when Thomas would lie in bed at night and wonder who he was any more. The Thomas he had always known was obedient, loved God and his family, painting, shooting, and reading. He'd never had time to think of other things before. Now, seemingly out of nowhere, there they were, and they took up more and more of his thoughts until he thought he would scream.

Father had been watching Gabriel like a hawk for months, since he had begun to become more outspoken for the Colonial cause. The more zealous Gabriel became, the harsher Father became, until any talk of such things was forbidden, and if Father caught them having whispered conversations, he immediately suspected they were discussing Gabriel's political views, even if they weren't. It had become nearly impossible for Thomas to talk privately with Gabriel about anything without fear of Father overhearing. Although the things Thomas wanted to talk about included politics, there were others as well, and none of them were things he wanted anyone else to know.

Luck had been with him in a strange way when a large storm on the Second of July had hit the area and damaged a barn at their Uncle Edward's plantation, which was about 15 miles away. The storm had damaged some of the buildings at home as well, so Father had left Gabriel in charge to repair there, while he went to assist Uncle Edward. The repairing had gone fairly quickly, and Thomas had gotten some valuable time alone with Gabriel while fixing some torn shingles on the house. Gabriel had been frank with him, something Thomas had appreciated, and he had told him of his own experiences at Thomas's age, which didn't sound all that different. Gabriel had said that even now he still felt confused and frustrated at times, and not sure what to do about his feelings, but now that he knew Thomas was going through the same thing, he didn't feel quite so alone.

That afternoon they had run out of nails, and rather than ride all the way to Charles Towne for more, Thomas rode across the fields to the Ames plantation to borrow a few. While he was talking to Gabriel's friend Zachary concerning the nails, another thought came to Thomas, one that made his cheeks burn crimson. When Zachary came back from the barn with the nails, Thomas whispered and asked him for one other thing, something he knew Zachary must have had from his conversations with Gabriel. Zachary had regarded him with surprise, but then had disappeared up into his bedroom, returning moments later with the cloth pouch and telling Thomas to guard it with his life, or it might very well be his life if he was caught with it.

Thomas had almost felt dizzy with the adrenaline rush that accompanied riding home with the contraband hidden in his haversack; it was the same rush that coursed through him as he sat down on the back porch and quickly pulled his boots on, clutching the pouch and rushing toward the creek to meet Gabriel. He hadn't spoken to Gabriel about the pouch, and Gabriel had been busy up until Father's return the morning of the Fourth, so he could not have seen Zachary in the meantime and found out about it.

"Gabriel?" Thomas whispered as he approached the designated spot.

A rustle in the rushes answered him, and Gabriel peered out. "I'm here."

Thomas pushed through the rushes as well and came to the clear creek bank, which was hard-packed dirt since the July heat had seriously diminished the water level.

"What is this about?" Gabriel asked. He was holding Thomas's note in his hand, and his eyes were wide and shining. Thomas could tell curiosity was killing him--Thomas was not the type to engage in this sort of rebellion against Father unabetted, and it made something very warm stir inside Thomas's belly to see that Gabriel was smiling in approval even so far.

"I have something I wanted to show you," Thomas whispered nervously. He took the pouch in his hand and reached into it carefully, although his eyes were fixed on Gabriel's face. He wanted to see his reaction when Gabriel saw it and would certainly realize where Thomas's mind and thoughts had been for the past few weeks.

Gabriel's eyes widened as Thomas dropped the pouch to the ground. "Thomas, where did you--" he cut himself off and looked at Thomas with wonder, as if seeing him anew for the first time. "I had no idea--"

"I got it from Zachary Ames," Thomas said quietly. "He said you would understand it."

"Yes," Gabriel nodded and took it from Thomas, then walked over to a nearby tree and sank down. He then looked up at Thomas warily. "Are you--"

Thomas nodded, and he took a few steps closer to Gabriel. "I'm fourteen now, Gabriel. I'm almost an adult. I want to know." His voice trailed off to a whisper, and he fell to his knees in front of his older brother.

Gabriel nodded. "Father can't know about this at all. You know what the consequence would be."

"I know." Thomas had been lectured by Father more times than Gabriel would ever know, and he feared his wrath, but he could not deny what he knew in his very soul he wanted.

"Very well then," Gabriel said, and shifted a bit to get more comfortable against the tree. His voice was soft and breathless, and he held his free hand out. "Come here."

Thomas crawled over between Gabriel's legs and lowered himself until he was lying against his brother's chest. Gabriel's body was warm and solid, and his scent was a dizzying combination of lye soap and the sweat of a hard day's work. It made Thomas feel even dizzier than he had before. Thomas's eyes flicked to Gabriel's other hand as he brought it around Thomas, until he was holding him tightly.

"I can't believe you did this, Thomas," Gabriel whispered. His lips grazed Thomas's temple with a soft kiss. "I never thought I would ever--" He seemed at a loss for words, and instead kissed Thomas again. "It means more to me than you can ever know."

"It means more to me than you can ever know that we can share it," Thomas replied as he got comfortable. "Just," he paused and looked up into Gabriel's eyes. "Go slowly and explain it all for me? I want to know everything."

"Of course," Gabriel replied with a nod and a gentle smile. With one hand caressing Thomas's back, Gabriel opened the cover of the booklet Thomas had produced from the cloth pouch and began to read. " _Common Sense_ , by Thomas Paine..."


End file.
